Speak More Articulately Than 99% of People

Summary

This video script reveals three secrets to enhance your speaking skills. It advises upgrading 'workhorse words' to more precise alternatives, using a thesaurus or AI prompts. It introduces the 'commonplace book' as a tool to collect and review creative phrases for articulate speech. Lastly, it emphasizes the importance of eliminating 'fatty language', including fillers, redundancy, and intensifiers, to achieve crisp and engaging communication, offering practical tips and a PDF guide for improvement.

Takeaways

• 📚 Upgrade your Workhorse words: Common and vague words should be replaced with more precise and articulate alternatives to improve speech quality.
• 📊 Use a visualizer to understand Workhorse words: A tool to plot how common and vague words are, helping to identify areas for improvement in vocabulary.
• 🔍 Identify high-volume Workhorse words: Recognize and select words you use excessively in your speech for replacement with more articulate options.
• 📝 Contextualize your word choices: Determine the context in which a Workhorse word is used to find a suitable and precise alternative.
• 📚 Utilize resources like the Well-Spoken Thesaurus: A comprehensive list of precise substitutes for ordinary words to enhance your vocabulary.
• 💡 Employ creative prompts for alternatives: Use prompts provided by Chat GPT to generate articulate alternatives based on the context of your Workhorse word.
• 🔑 Incorporate new words into daily use: Make a habit of using new, more precise words by setting reminders or using them as phone lock screen backgrounds.
• 🗒️ Maintain a Commonplace Book: A collection of clever phrases and concise word combinations to enrich your speaking and writing.
• 👤 Learn from history's great articulators: Observe patterns in the language of renowned speakers and incorporate similar techniques into your own speech.
• ✂️ Eliminate bloated language: Reduce redundancy, filler words, and intensifiers to create lean, crisp sentences that convey your ideas more effectively.
• 🤔 Develop awareness and practice: Use techniques like finger tabs or processing word endings to focus on reducing redundancy and filler words in your speech.

Q & A

What are 'Workhorse words' as mentioned in the script?

Workhorse words are common and vague words that are frequently overused in our speech to the point of exhaustion. They are words that are so common that they lose their precision and impact in communication.

How can one identify Workhorse words in their speech?

One can identify Workhorse words by selecting a word they know they use excessively and then identifying the context in which the word is commonly used, such as describing food, a person, a project, or an experience.

What is the Wells Spoken Thesaurus and how can it be used to improve speech?

The Wells Spoken Thesaurus is a resource that provides a comprehensive list of more precise and articulate substitutes for ordinary words. It can be used to find alternatives to Workhorse words, enhancing the richness and precision of one's speech.

What are the two methods suggested to find articulate alternatives for Workhorse words?

The two methods suggested are using the Wells Spoken Thesaurus for precise substitutes, and using chat GPT prompts that provide articulate alternatives based on the context in which the Workhorse word is used.

What is the purpose of repeating a new word or expression aloud?

Repeating a new word or expression aloud helps to increase awareness of the Workhorse word and sensitizes the speaker to their tendency to default to it, encouraging them to use the new, more precise word instead.

Can you explain the concept of a 'Commonplace Book'?

A Commonplace Book is a collection of clever phrases, concise word combinations, jokes, analogies, metaphors, and quotes that one wishes to absorb into their own speaking. It serves as a personal repository of articulate expressions to be used in speech.

Why is it beneficial to review the Commonplace Book regularly?

Regularly reviewing the Commonplace Book helps to internalize the phrases and expressions, making it easier to recall and use them in speech. This practice is inspired by historical figures like Benjamin Franklin, who reviewed his own Commonplace Book every Sunday.

What are the three types of 'fatty language' that contribute to bloated sentences?

The three types of 'fatty language' are fillers (such as 'um', 'a', 'like', 'in', 'so'), redundancy spirals (where words are repeated unnecessarily), and intensifiers (words that cushion adjectives, like 'kind of', 'really', 'virtually').

How can one avoid using fillers at the start of their sentences?

One can avoid using fillers by keeping their mouth closed until they have defined their starting words. This prevents the mind from defaulting to initial fillers and encourages more calculated speech.

What are the two solutions suggested to reduce redundancy spirals and intensifiers in speech?

The two solutions suggested are processing the endings of your words to focus on what you're saying, and creating a 'finger tab' by pinching your index finger and thumb together, which serves as a physical reminder to audit your speech more carefully.

What is the ultimate goal of the techniques and practices discussed in the script?

The ultimate goal is to help individuals develop more articulate, precise, and engaging speech, setting them apart from the majority who default to common, vague, and bloated language.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Upgrading Workhorse Words for Articulate Speech

The first secret to becoming a better speaker is to replace 'workhorse words'—common and vague words frequently overused—with more precise and articulate alternatives. The script introduces a visualizer to identify these words and suggests a four-step process to improve vocabulary. This includes selecting a common word, identifying its context, finding a more precise alternative using resources like the 'Well-Spoken Thesaurus' or specific prompts, and then sensitizing oneself to the word's overuse. The goal is to enrich one's speech with powerful and precise language, moving beyond the generic to the expressive.

05:02

📔 The Power of the Commonplace Book for Articulate Expression

The second secret to articulate speech is the use of a 'commonplace book', a historical technique employed by great speakers to store and recall clever phrases and word combinations. The script explains how to create and use a commonplace book, dividing it into sections that reflect different aspects of life and filling it with creative expressions. This practice helps in constructing well-composed, colorful thoughts and sentences that are engaging and pleasurable to the listener. The script also touches on the importance of reviewing this book regularly, akin to Benjamin Franklin's practice, to internalize these phrases for effective communication.

10:05

📝 Crafting Lean and Crisp Sentences for Effective Communication

The final technique discussed in the script is the creation of lean and crisp sentences to avoid the 'jagged broken sentence' effect caused by bloated language. The script identifies three speaking habits that contribute to this issue: fillers, redundancy spirals, and intensifiers. To counter these habits, the speaker suggests keeping the mouth closed until the start of a sentence is clear, being aware of redundancy and intensifiers, and using physical techniques like 'finger tabs' or 'toe scrunching' to maintain focus on precise speech. The script concludes with an offer of a free PDF summarizing the discussed methods to help viewers improve their speaking skills.

Keywords

💡Workhorse words

Workhorse words refer to common and vague terms that are frequently overused to the point of losing their impact in speech. In the video, the concept is tied to the idea that these words are so common that they fail to convey specific or unique ideas effectively. For example, the word 'good' is identified as a workhorse word because it is used to describe a wide range of things without much distinction, such as 'a good meal' or 'a good movie'.

💡Articulate speakers

Articulate speakers are those who choose words that are precise and convey specific meanings, avoiding the vagueness of workhorse words. The video emphasizes the importance of being an articulate speaker by selecting words that are not only within the common vocabulary but also offer a richer and more precise description. For instance, instead of saying someone is 'nice,' an articulate speaker might describe them as 'considerate' or 'approachable.'

💡Well-spoken thesaurus

The well-spoken thesaurus is a resource mentioned in the video that provides a list of more precise and articulate substitutes for ordinary words. It is a tool that helps individuals to find and use words that are less common but more specific, thereby enhancing the quality of their speech. The script suggests using this resource to find alternatives to workhorse words to enrich one's vocabulary.

💡Commonplace book

A commonplace book is a collection of notable quotes, phrases, and expressions that an individual finds valuable and wishes to incorporate into their own speech or writing. The video describes this as a technique used by many great speakers throughout history to store and review clever phrases and concise word combinations. The speaker shares their own experience of maintaining a commonplace book, which is divided into sections representing different aspects of life, and reviewing it regularly to improve their articulation.

💡Redundancy spirals

Redundancy spirals are a speaking habit where words are repeated or ideas are over-explained, leading to a bloated and less impactful speech. The video points out that this habit can make sentences feel heavy and can detract from the clarity of the message. An example from the script is the phrase 'really really really hard time,' which is an overuse of the word 'really' to emphasize the difficulty.

💡Intensifiers

Intensifiers are words used to modify or emphasize other words in a sentence, often adding unnecessary padding and uncertainty. The video discusses how intensifiers like 'kind of,' 'sort of,' and 'really' can weaken the meaning of the words they modify. For example, instead of saying 'the trip was fantastic,' one might say 'the trip was really fantastic,' which adds an unnecessary qualifier and diminishes the strength of the original statement.

💡Fillers

Fillers are words or sounds like 'um,' 'uh,' 'like,' 'so,' and 'you know' that are used in speech without adding meaning. The video describes fillers as creating disruptions in the flow of speech and suggests that they are a sign of poor speech habits. The script advises keeping the mouth closed until the starting words of a sentence are clear to avoid relying on fillers.

💡Bloated language

Bloated language refers to speech that is filled with unnecessary words, making it feel heavy and lacking in clarity. The video contrasts bloated language with lean, crisp sentences that convey ideas more directly and effectively. It suggests that great articulators are able to create impactful speech by eliminating this unnecessary language.

💡Finger tab

The finger tab is a technique suggested in the video to help reduce redundancy spirals and intensifiers in speech. It involves pinching the index finger and thumb together while speaking, creating a mild discomfort that serves as a reminder to be more mindful of speech habits. This practice is meant to help the speaker focus on delivering clear and concise sentences.

💡Speech habits

Speech habits are the patterns and tendencies in the way individuals speak, which can include the use of workhorse words, fillers, redundancy spirals, and intensifiers. The video discusses the importance of being aware of and modifying these habits to achieve greater clarity and precision in speech. It suggests that by unlearning poor speech habits, one can improve their ability to articulate thoughts effectively.

Highlights

The importance of upgrading 'Workhorse words' to enhance speech quality.

Workhorse words are common and vague, often overused in everyday speech.

A visualizer is introduced to understand the commonality and precision of words.

The concept of 'articulate speakers' who choose precise words over common ones.

A four-step process to replace Workhorse words with more powerful and precise alternatives.

A PDF of common Workhorse words is provided to assist in identifying overused terms.

The Wells Spoken Thesaurus as a resource for finding articulate word substitutes.

Using chat GPT prompts to discover rich and varied descriptions for Workhorse words.

The strategy of using phone lock screens as reminders for new words.

The second secret for articulate speech: the use of 'commonplace books'.

Patterns in the language of history's greatest speakers, including the use of creative phrases.

The structure and benefits of maintaining a commonplace book for speech improvement.

Benjamin Franklin's practice of reviewing his commonplace book weekly.

The impact of using rich word combinations on sentence construction and speech.

Techniques to avoid bloated language and create lean, crisp sentences.

Identifying and eliminating 'fillers', 'redundancy spirals', and 'intensifiers' in speech.

Practical solutions like 'finger tab' and 'toe scrunch' to focus on reducing speech redundancies.

A free PDF with all discussed methods for easy reference and improvement.

The call to action to make this generation one of the most well-spoken in history.

Transcripts

the first of three secrets that will Aid

you in speaking better than 99% of

people is to upgrade your Workhorse

words Workhorse words are common and

vague words that we overwork to the

point of exhaustion in our speech here's

a visualizer to understand this the

horizontal axis plots how common to

uncommon a word is and the vertical axis

how vague to precise a word is Workhorse

words are words that fall within this

radius for example we might describe a

meal as good good is a Workhorse word a

movie was good vacation might also be

good our relationship pretty good great

or awesome we collapse the rich Dynamic

nature of life and the world around us

into a vague cheap adjective articulate

speakers select words that are sourced

from within this radius these are

moderately precise words that are beyond

the common vocabulary of most people

certainly we recognize these words but

we don't employ them in our speech if I

were to ask you to describe a coworker's

attitude you might tell me that they

were cool or nice a more precise

description might be to say they were

considerate approachable or cordal I've

been able to replace my Workhorse words

with words of greater power and

precision by following four steps step

number one is to select a Workhorse word

that you know you employ excessively in

your speaking to help you with this I've

aggregated the most common Workhorse

words into a PDF that is accessible

below this video let's say we want to

enrich the word good after selecting a

high volume Workhorse word identify the

context in which the word is commonly

used for example are you using good to

describe an attribute food a person

project an experience let's imagine

we're referencing to food step three

find an articulate alternative using one

of two methods method one is to use the

wells spoken thesaurus which I'll link

to for free below this video the wells

spoken thesaurus is an exhaustive list

of more precise and articulate

substitutes for ordinary words the

second method is to use one of the

following chat GPT prompts also provided

below one of these provides you with

articulate alternatives to your

Workhorse word based on the context in

which you would use your Workhorse word

such as in describing food the other

prop provides you with a list of examp

examples from novels where characters

use Rich Dynamic varied descriptions of

your Workhorse word the goal is to find

a word or expression that you're

comfortable with using and consider

featuring that on your phone lock screen

as a reminder step four use your voice

to punch up the Workhorse word to

increase your awareness of it good good

good you want yourself to become

sensitized to the word to the point

where you become aware of your tendency

to default fall to it just before it

happens this four-step process invites

the question how will I keep track of

everything this leads me to the second

secret that will put you in the top 1%

of articulators if you watch the

interviews of some of History's Greatest

wordsmiths you begin to notice patterns

in their language specifically you'll

notice the repetition of particular

creative phrases and expressions for

example Reverend Martin Luther King

would frequently use phrases such as

Cosmic significance rabble rousers and

agitators depths and dimensions of the

problem Thomas Jefferson often employed

the phrases human life of happiness and

incomprehensible machine of man Muhammad

Ali would frequently say style stamina

and system what you realize is that most

intelligent phrases and

expressions aren't generated on the Fly

rather they are preassembled in advance

and activated in speech creating almost

an artificial AR articulacy from rean to

Rosevelt to Churchill to Cicero many of

History's Greatest articulators used a

similar technique that technique is

called the commonplace book The

commonplace book is an aggregate of

every clever phrase or concise word

combination that you encounter that you

wish to absorb into your own speaking

I've kept a physical commonplace book

for some years now I've recently

migrated it to Google Docs here's my

current commonplace book I can't reveal

all the contents but we can preview the

structure I have divided this into 13

sections that represent different facets

of my life from technology to politics

to social media religion language each

section features creative word

combinations jokes analogies metaphors

quotes this table here for example

tracks my Workhorse words and the

articulate Alternatives I'm attempting

to work into my speech I read through

this entire document once a week and

that frequency is based on Benjamin

Franklin who also kept a commonplace

book and would review his every Sunday

this template I've created for myself

can be found below this video what a

commonplace book allows you to do is

develop a bank of Rich word combinations

that you can use to assemble articulate

thoughts when we speak for most of us

the average sentence looks something

like this it's rather dull and flat

peppered with ums and AZ clich

expressions and all kinds of vapid vague

Kirkland brand language we occasionally

add color to our sentences by using

unordinary and creative word

combinations but that's rare there's of

course nothing wrong with speaking in

this way for 99% of people this is our

communication default but there's no

denying that those who use fresh words

to engineer well constructed colorful

thoughts give their sentences and are

articulate heartbeat that is engaging

and pleasurable to listen to Imagine an

idea that might take you two sentences

to communicate that you've collapsed

into a three-word phrase and now added

to your commonplace

book when you enter the realm of

conversation pertaining to that idea you

can begin to employ the contents of your

commonplace book instead of vaguely

saying someone did a bad thing your

tongue selects grave Injustice that

opinion becomes school of thought

someone who is extremely sad can be

dealing with soul destroying anguish it

depends on the context of course these

phrases allow you to compose sentences

that are more seamless and teing with

color I want to share one final

technique that will Aid you in creating

lean crisp sentences remember that

Jagged broken sentence visualizer that

we referenced earlier that Barbed line

isn't just the result result of using

ordinary words and fillers it's also the

result of redundant and Bloated language

if you think about the average spoken

sentence as a thin line such as what is

Illustrated here bloated language is the

fat around your words that makes your

sentences feel heavy and greasy there

are three speaking habits that

contribute to fatty sentences first are

fillers the big five fillers are um a a

like in so these create tiny bumps in

our sentences and break the flow of our

delivery second we have redundancy

spirals this is where we double or

triple up our words in an attempt to

explain an idea it was a really really

really hard time there are an endless

countless unlimited number of things we

can do I want to read a book and just

understand internalize and read the

information in these examples instead of

moving forward with the delivery of my

thought and covering new ground I'm

retracing previous verbal territory with

replications and variations of the same

word you might think I'm being

scrupulous here but pruning redundancy

spirals from your speaking is one of the

chief contributors to creating clean

speech there's a crisp quality to

sentences without it in fact what makes

the words of great articulator

so penetrating is the amount of effort

they've put into un learning poor speech

Habits Like redundancy spirals in like

the third type of fatty language

intensifiers intensifiers are empty

words that we use to cushion our

adjectives in sentences kind of sort of

actually really basically virtually

totally literally super pretty much our

trip was really fantastic I literally

just saw them at the store I kind of

want to go to that Mediterranean

restaurant the trouble with intensifiers

is that they pad our sentences with

uncertainty and cheapen the meaning of

our words it's not enough to say an

event was fantastic it has to be pretty

fantastic to be fantastic none of these

fatty language habits are word crimes

against humanity 99% of us communicate

using bloated language including myself

but if you want to achieve greater

exactness with your speaking I suggest

three actions number one is to keep your

mouth closed until you've defined your

starting words the most vulnerable

moment particularly fulfill our words is

at the start of our sentences keeping

your mouth

closed prevents your brain from

defaulting to that initial um that your

mind so desperately wants you to lead

with as it relates to redundancy Spirals

and intensifiers the best solution I

found is simply awareness the challenge

is how do we keep our mind focused on

stripping our sentences of bloated

language without taking away cognitive

horsepower from communicating our

thoughts I noticed this when I was

modifying my own speaking behaviors and

I invented two solutions one is to

process the endings of your words when

you hear the endings of your

words you can't help but focus on what

it is you're saying this results in more

calculated speech the second solution

create a finger tab this practice

consists of pinching your index finger

and thumb together as a way of keeping

your mind focused on reducing redundancy

Spirals and intensifiers in your

speaking when you create that pinch and

you hold it as you speak that mild

discomfort creates an open tab in your

mind that causes you to audit your

speech more carefully if I'm

gesticulating a lot with my hands what I

will often do as an alternative to the

finger tab is scrunch my toes in my

shoes you only have to do this until you

retrain your mind to speak cons

precisely every method discussed in this

video I've assembled into a free pdf

linked below for easy review let's make

this generation one of the most well

spoken in the history of humanity thanks

for watching and consider subscribing